Abstract

Background: As the process of myocardial remodeling starts before the onset of symptoms, detection of subclinical left ventricular diastolic dysfunction is of paramount importance. This will help in the early implementation of interventions to reverse the functional and structural abnormalities. Objectives: This study was conducted to assess the diastolic function of apparently healthy individuals who presented with exertional chest discomfort and shortness of breath (New York Heart Association Class I) with effort tolerance more than 9 metabolic equivalents on treadmill.
Materials and Methods: A total of 141 patients, fulfilling the inclusion criteria, were analyzed to look for diastolic dysfunction using two-dimensional and Doppler echocardiography. Peak velocities of early (E) and late (A) diastolic filling, deceleration time and Doppler tissue imaging for early (E’), and late (A’) diastolic peak velocities were measured. Subsequently, mitral E/E’ ratio was calculated.
Results: Mean age of patients examined was 46.46 ± 4.27 years and 86.5% of the patients were male. Overall, the prevalence of diastolic dysfunction in the patients analyzed was 14.9%. Diastolic dysfunction in patients more than 50 years of age was 21.6%, whereas it was 12.5% in patients <50 years. The prevalence in male and female patients was 14.3% and 15.8%, respectively. Hypertension was significantly higher in patients with diastolic dysfunction in comparison to patients without diastolic dysfunction, 71.4% versus 48.3% respectively (P < 0.05). The prevalence of diabetes in patients with and without diastolic dysfunction was 47.6% and 35.5%, respectively (P = NS). Conclusion: Diastolic abnormalities are not uncommon in apparently healthy individuals. Its prevalence increases with age and hypertension is a common association.